Wheelbarrow and hand grips therefor



March 16, 1965 DE GRAFF DU PUY 3,173,705

WHEELBARROW AND HAND GRIPS THEREFOR Filed Nov. 8, 1962 ATTOfiA/EYSUnited States Patent 6 f 3,173,795 WHEELBARROW AND HAND GRIPS THEREFURDe Gralf Du Fey, Norfolk, Va. (2105 Crystal Spring Ave. SW., Roanoke,Va.) Filed Nov. 8, 1962, Ser. No. 236,287 2 Claims. (U. 250-4751) Thisinvention relates to wheelbarrows and similar devices having shafts bymeans of which they are manipulated, and more particularly to improvedhandles for the shafts of such devices.

In using wheelbarrows, hand trucks, and similar one and two wheeledconveyances, itis customary, and natural, to grasp the shaft handleswith the arms fully extended, so that the proper balance, both ofvehicle and body, will be maintained and the greatest possible carryingpower and thrust is obtainable. The shaft handles are usually shaped toprovide for comfortable grip when the arms are fully extended. The handsencircle the handles, the fingers extending under the bottom of thehandles and up the inside faces. This places the thumbs forward. Theutmost stability, power and com-fort is obtained by pushing the barrowin this position. When it becomes necessary to dump the barrow, however,problems arise. The human wrist will bend backward but a limited amount,and it is impossible to raise the barrow handles much above the waistlevel while maintaining the above-described grip upon them. This isseldom high enough to dump the load. Because of this, the wheelbarrow isusually dumped by tilting to the side, or by throwing the shaftsupwardly so that the wheelbarrow overturns about its wheel. In eitherevent, the movement is awkward, and control of the dumping is lost.

The general object of the present invention is to provide an improvedconveyance of the general type mentioned which will permit an operatorto grasp the handles in a natural manner, and to maintain that gripwhile the vehicle is being pushed, dumped, or otherwise manipulated.

A more specific object of the invention is the provision of a device ofthis kind which has movable hand grips to shift as the barrow handlesshift so that it will not be necessary to change grip on the handles orto release them in order to tilt, or dump, the wheelbarrow.

Another object is to provide hand grips for attachment to the handleends of wheelbarrow shafts to facilitate operation of the wheelbarrow.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the followingdescription of one practical embodiment thereof, when taken inconjunction with the drawings which accompany, and form part of, thisspecification.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a wheelbarrow equipped with hand gripsembodying the principles of the present invention, with an operatorholding the grips to illustrate their manner of use;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of a hand grip in place at the end of aportion of a wheelbarrow handle;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section through the hand grip and its mounting,taken on the 'line 33 of FIGURE 2 and shown on an enlarged scale; and

FIGURE 4 is a vertical section taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 3 andbeing on a smaller scale.

In general, the invention consists in hand grips having mounting membersto permit the grips to be pivotally mounted on the handle ends ofwheelbarrow shafts, so that the grips may be rocked in vertical planesas may be required to permit an operator to maintain his grip upon thehandles while the wheelbarrow is being pushed, tilted, and completelydumped.

3,173,705 Patented Mar. 16, 1965 Referring to the drawings in detail andfirst to FIG- URE 1, a wheelbarrow 1 is shown. The wheelbarrow has apair of shafts 2 on which a wheel 3 is journalled. Supporting legs 4 arefastened beneath the shafts to support the barrow when it is not inmotion, and material-receiving body 5 is mounted on the shafts. Theshafts have handles 6 formed at their free ends, and hand grip 7incorporating the features of the present invention are connected to theends of the handles.

The hand grips inoludetwo members, a mounting element 8 and the grip,proper '9, pivotally interconnected. The mounting element 8--is intheform of a plate 10 having screw openings 11 near i-tsends. At the centerthere is an eye 12 which is apertured asat'13 to receive a pivot bolt14. Screws 15 through openings 11 into the barrow handle fix themounting elements to the wheelbarrow.

The grip element 9 consists of a curved grip bar 16, mounted between twoside plates 17. The side plates are of general V-shape, having diverginglegs 18 which are connected at their ends to the ends of the curved gripbar. At the juncture of the legs, at the base of the V, the plates haveopenings 19 to receive the pivot bolt 14. The grip bar is approximatelythe same diameter as the barrow handle so that the side plates of thegrip will pass freely on either side of the handle. The side plate legsmay be pinned, welded, or both, to the grip bar.

It will be clear from FIGURE 1 that a hand grip is attached to eachhandle of the wheelbarrow. They are secured in place by screwing themounting plates 10 to the undersides of the handles. The grips 8 arethen attached by inserting the pivot bolts 14 through the holes 19 inthe side plates of the grips and the opening 13 in the eye of themounting plate. The hand grips are attached very close to the ends ofthe handles, so that the grip elements will be free to swing about theirpivots completely around the handle ends so that the grips may iovefreely from above the handles to below them.

In using a wheelbarrow equipped with the hand grips as described, theoperator will grasp the hand grips and lift to raise the legs 4 from theground, so that the wheelbarrow can be moved on its wheel 3. As theweight will exert a downward pull, and the operators arms will be fullyextended, the hand grips will be in their upper positions, as shown inFIGURE 2. This is a natural, and comfortable, position for the operatorshands. When it is desired to tilt the wheelbarrow to dump its contents,the operator need only lift on the hand grips to raise the handles tothe position shown in FIGURE 1. It is to be noted that the hand gripsswing about their pivots as the wheelbarrow tilts so that the hand gripsmaintain a position which will allow the operators hands to stay in anormal, unstrained position. If it is necessary to tilt the wheelbarroweven further, the hand grips will rock even further around the handles.When the wheelbarrow is to be moved back to its carrying position, it isonly necessary to pull back on the hand grips. As the wheelbarrow swingsback and down to its original position the hand grips will adjust to theproper angle to allow the operators hands to remain in a naturalposition.

It will be understood that wheelbarrows may be manufactured with thehand grips attached, or the hand grips may be sold as attachments forconnection to wheelbarrows already in use.

While in the above one practical embodiment of the invention has beendisclosed, it will be clear that the specific details of constructionshown and described are merely for purposes of illustration and theinvention may take other forms within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a wheelbarrow having spaced shafts mounting a wheel and a bodywith the shafts terminating in handles at one end, the improvement whichcomprises, mounting members fixed to the wheelbarrow handles adjacentthe ends thereof, and hand grips pivotally connected to the mountingmembers for swinging movement in vertical planes in excess of 90, thehand grips having arcuate grip bars and side plates in spaced relationon each side of the grip bar, the side plates having diverging legsconnected at their ends to the grip bar and the pivoted connection beingto the side plates centrally of the diverging legs, said hand gripsadapted for continuous swinging movement both above and below thelongitudinal axis of the handles.

2. In a wheelbarrow having spaced shafts mounting a wheel and a bodywith the shafts terminating in handles at one end, the improvement whichcomprises, hand grips each having a central opening through which thefingers of a user may pass, that portion of each hand grip on one sideof the opening forming a grip bar, and that portion of the hand grip onthe opposite side of the opening forming a connector, and meanspivotally interconnecting the connectors and the wheelbarrow handlesadjacent the handle ends toprOVide swinging movement of the hand gripsin vertical planes, said hand grips adapted for continuous swingingmovement both above and below the longitudinal axis of the handles.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 626,332 6/99Mason 16-112 X 2,263,879 11/41 Jorgensen. 2,361,674 10/44 Zeindler28047.29 X 2,820,643 1/58 COhn 28047.27 2,901,263 8/59 Van Loon 18047.31

A. HARRY LEVY, Primary Examiner.

1. IN A WHEELBARROW HAVING SPACED SHAFTS MOUNTING A WHEEL AND A BODY WITH THE SHAFTS TERMINATING IN HANDLES AT ONE END, THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES, MOUNTING MEMBERS FIXED TO THE WHEELBARROW HANDLES ADJACENT THE ENDS THEREOF, AND HAND GRIPS PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO THE MOUNTING MEMBERS FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT IN VERTICAL PLANES IN EXCESS OF 90*, THE HAND GRIPS HAVING A ARCUATE GRIPS BARS AND SIDE PLATES IN SPACED RELATION ON SAID SIDE OF THE GRIP BAR, THE SIDE PLATES HAVING DIVERGING LEGS CONNECTED AT THEIR ENDS TO THE GRIP BAR AND THE PIVOTED CONNECTION BEING TO THE SIDE PLTES CENTRALLY OF THE DIVERGING LEGS, SAID HAND GRIPS ADAPTED FOR CONTINUOUS SWINGING MOVEMENT BOTH ABOVE AND BELOW THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE HANDLES. 